Dedicated to Riley’s Oma (“grandma” in German), Hanna Weinberger, who escaped Auschwitz two weeks before the Liberation, emigrated to America, married, and had two sons. Also dedicated to the man she married, Leonard Weinberger, and their sons, Rob and Roy.

34 Comment(s)

Guapo, I hear you. One of her sisters was shot trying to escape; the other survived but abandoned her Jewish heritage, marrying an Anglican and raising the kids in the church… all sorts of ways to lose people… Amy

Thanks, Mark. And may we see it coming, because it will come again. Hitler’s blueprint was taken from the Turkish genocide of Armenians in 1915 and the years before, but 1915 is the end date on SO MANY Armenian family trees… Amy

I’ve been girding my loins, seeing if I have the courage to tour it. Being so close to Hanna, it’s hard to imagine entering the room of shoes… thanks, Brian. Peace, and may we remain vigilant to the fascism that looms even now. Amy

Z, must tell you, these were mostly first-hand accounts from the real Hanna Stern Weinberger. I sat for hours, transfixed, because we Barlow girls were raised with knowledge of the Holocaust – our mom, a social justice advocate, insisted we recognize fascism when it rears its ugly head. Thanks, and peace, Amy

Such sad, bad, evil times. Hanna’s story is one of determination to survive against all odds. Thankfully she did. We think these things can never and, will never happen again and yet, nothing much has changed. Different dictators in different countries but, the same killing and bigoted beliefs.
Powerful write Amy.

You nailed this one, hon. It’s all around us. Rwanda, where Europeans made up the concept of Hutus and Tutsis, then pitted them against each other, declaring the Hutus to be “morally and ethnically superior.” Here, it’s even questioning the heritage of our president, because he’s biracial. In South Africa of old, he couldn’t have gotten a job painting houses. Thank God he is American. Amy

Henry, my mother-in-law was a strong, awesome woman, and I don’t say that about many people… her courage was in her bones, I think, and her story is one that needs to NEVER happen again. But one must be able to recognize fascism and racist where it exists… especially here in America. Amy

Like, which I checked, seems a bizarre word for this poem, but it signifies my appreciation of your beautifully-written reminder of that unspeakable period for your family and for so many families lost for ever.

VIv, this serves as a mirror to your stories of WWII as well, your childhood and the Blitz… it’s all in the same mix. Here in America, we have so many kinds of prejudice and racism… but people don’t want to think about it. I speak out. That’s one reason I’m not popular in my family… but Mom would be proud, I know. Bless you! Amy

We hear of the horrors and others speak of their sufferings. We never know of the sufferings of those who didn’t make it. It’s awful of what man can do to man. We tell ourselves we hope such things would not happen again.But it does! It’s sad!

Happy for Hanna. She is blessed! She had no ill-will of others. Her escape was made easy. Great write, Amy!

Hank, thanks so much for this warm reply. Do you know, when the American flag was at last flown over Auschwitz, and her little group sent a spy to ensure this was not a Nazi ruse to lure them back, Hanna, five-foot-zero and 15 years old, marched up to an American soldier and said in German, “I would like to speak to whomever is in charge.” What a gutsy girl and strong woman in her later years. She died two years ago, in her American husband’s arms. Amy

How many stood by, did nothing to help. Fear stood in every shadow. Yet the Peeps did N O T H I N G !!

What is the matter with us today? Do we not SEE??? Over and over and over, history whips around like a hurricane, whips us in the ass. Little by little we lose out freedoms. Maybe God thinks we are not smart Stewards of our cash, our belief structure, our freedom.

Shut UP steve, time to move away–getting shot iin the ass is better than being shot in the chest, neck, or head!

And Oh YEAH! LOVE and PEACE! (That somehow sounds funny in this spot right now?–grin!)

Steve, the scar left by Hanna’s tattoo removal made it horrifyingly real to me as well. She had nightmares until the day she died that the SS was at her door. She slept in a locked bedroom… and died in her loving husband’s arms. My mother raised us to NEVER ignore prejudice, whether is was racism, the little guy getting picked on, immigrants, religious bias, sexism… but the Holocaust she burned into our brains, telling us that fascism must never take root in America. Guess what? It has, in the form of the Tea Party. Sorry, Teabaggers, but the Koch Bros. are running you ’round in circles and you don’t even know it. The cockroaches have come out to play, and the NRA makes sure the militias do not want for guns. But that’s just me…

God, are we a pair or WHAT??!! It’s like, “Don’t get Steve and/or Amy started; we’ll be here all night!” Peace to you, buddy. Amy

Tattooing was a double insult and curse upon Jews, because if a Jew has a tattoo, they cannot be buried in consecrated ground, at least Orthodox Jews still follow this tradition. So Hitler was doubly cruel with this. So glad you knew witnesses and that some found happiness together… the shared experience… Amy

Bless you, Lindy. Wanted to keep it hanging, as they thought they were going to work camps, and most were gassed. In Hanna’s case, it was Auschwitz, where her sister died trying to escape… her mom and dad had both died of natural causes, so she was living with an aunt. She always said she was glad her parents were spared not only the indignity, but the probability that old folks would have gone to the chambers… how sad is that? Amy